Clinton to announce program to remove 7,000 guns from Washington streets

Gun buyback comes in wake of zoo shootings

April 28, 2000
Web posted at: 2:19 p.m. EDT (1819 GMT)

From White House Correspondent Kelly Wallace

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- U.S. President Bill Clinton will announce Friday that the White House and the District of Columbia are teaming up to try to remove 7,000 guns from the streets of the nation's capital, senior administration officials tell CNN.

During an event at a Washington police academy Friday afternoon, the president will announce that the federal government is joining forces with the district's government to share the cost of a new $350,000 gun buyback program.

The president's announcement will come just days after Monday's shooting at Washington's National Zoo that left seven children wounded, including an 11-year-old boy who remains in critical condition. A 16-year-old male has been charged with attempted murder and will be tried as an adult in the case.

The gun buyback will be the largest such program for the district, topping a similar operation last summer that netted 3,000 guns at $100 each.

"A gun buyback program is a simple, common-sense way to give communities the chance to take guns off the street and out of circulation," said Bruce Reed, the president's domestic policy adviser.

Washington Mayor Anthony Williams and Police Chief Charles Ramsey will join the president in making the announcement.

Buying back America's guns

In September, Clinton announced creation of the Buyback America program, a campaign to purchase unwanted guns and raise awareness about gun safety. On April 18, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Andrew Cuomo launched the program in 84 cities.

President Clinton on Friday is expected to call on Congress to approve $30 million for next year's budget for HUD gun buybacks. Reed said lawmakers had approved $15 million to buy unwanted guns in fiscal year 2000.

HUD this weekend is sponsoring gun buybacks in public housing projects in cities across the country.

The mayor of Newark, New Jersey, one of the first cities to join BuyBack America, said the program helps keep guns away from young people.

"Get guns lying around out of the hands of society, out of the potential hands of young people and others who might use them," said Mayor Sharpe James. "It's a commendable program. It's working."

Other cities participating in BuyBack America include Schenectady, New York; Kansas City, Kansas; Las Cruces, New Mexico; Columbus, Georgia and Wilmington, North Carolina.

Critics say buybacks don't work

Not everyone believes government gun buybacks reduce the overall crime rate. And some critics say the government is buying back old, low caliber firearms seldom used in crimes.

They say the most dangerous weapons -- high powered guns used by street criminals -- rarely are turned in to police.

"Gun buyback programs are largely gestures for Mr. Rogers' neighborhood on TV," said Wayne LaPierre of the National Rifle Association. "The world of drug dealers and gang members and violent felons -- they don't live in that neighborhood."

But one gun policy expert said that gun buyback programs do have at least a limited impact.

"Although they might not be able to reduce community rates of violent crime, it's possible they can affect household level risk factors for gun suicide, accidents and homicide," said Jon Vernick with Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Policy and Research

In addition to announcing the Washington gun buyback program, President Clinton on Friday will repeat his call for tougher gun laws. Gun legislation has been stalled in Congress since last May, one month after the deadly Columbine high school shootings in Colorado.

Correspondent Jonathan Aiken contributed to this report.